EDF Energy bill

linzilou

Hi can anyone help me please, my daughter moved into her new rented house on the 15th of july this year from a flat where she had taken out a contract for fuel from Scottish power. EDF provided the fuel to the previous tenant they were contacted by scottish power who arranged the change over for the 19th of august that meant she had 35days of power from EDF. At that time she and her husband were mourning the death of their baby girl and my daughter was very poorly also within a short time her husband was rushed into hospital needing an urgent back operation so bills and such havent been top of her list as you can imagine. Anyway by way of two letters from different credit companies EDF have told her she owes a total of a £150 for 35days of gas and electric during that time! She did not have any central heating or fire on in fact all they used was the electric cooker the water for showers and washing just for two of them and tv and lights, bearing in mind it didnt get dark until 9:30pm and was light early in the morning. She has paid one bill of £49 supposedly for electric but they are claiming she has to pay £101 for gas used. She cant even remember giving them a reading when she moved in as that was a very black time for her as you can imagine. She has asked them to check it but they insist she has to pay it and she is getting so distressed and is trying to get the money together to pay it. I have advised her after she spoke to them to contact the ombudsman as there is no way she could have used all of that gas on showers and washing! I dont know if the previous tenant had a contract with EDF and my daughter is having to pay a penalty for it or if she is paying for 13 weeks of fuel that the previous tenant used (which they insist she isnt.) Has anyone else had any kind of problem like this or can anyone offer us advice please? thanks so much,

jalexa

linzilou wrote: »

can anyone offer us advice please?

Sorry to hear of the personal misfortune.

Regarding the Edf "final bill", focus exclusively on the meter reading information on the bill, not the cost (or why you *think* the cost is too much).

Specifically, the date of the opening reading should align with the date you became a tenant (as evidenced by the tenancy agreement) and the closing reading should be identical to the Scottish Power opening reading.

If you (or the agency) did not take or provide a tenancy opening reading that is a little harder to establish, but first post the information suggested above.

bearcub

So sorry to hear about your family's awful problems. I have similar experience, as I have two daughters living in rented properties, and both have had fuel companies demanding payment for fuel they'd not used. In fact, one daughter was asked to pay a gas bill, when there was no gas in the flat!

Whatever you do, do not panic, and the same goes for your daughter. EDF seem to be giving a lot of people grief at the moment but, as jalexa said, make sure you get ALL the relevant information from the bill, and try to match it with the tenancy agreement. If your daughter rents through an agency, all the better, as they will have more paperwork to back up the dates, and should back up the facts of the changeover. Whether or not a closing or opening reading was done, no company has a right to charge for fuel used BEFORE your daughter took over tenancy. First, she should call the agency (if there is one), and get them to write a letter confirming when she took over the tenancy. If no agency, she should get a copy of the relevant page(s) of tenancy contract, call EDF to say that she has proof that she's not responsible for the amount spent before the date she moved in, and send the copy to EDF, having made sure that she keeps proof of posting. While waiting for their written reply (she should insist on a written reply), contact the CAB, who should be able to give further advice.